Let's Catch Up...

Our big trip to Seattle and Alaska was amazing. We spent time with my amazing Aunt Cheri and Uncle Dale, seeing Dutch Town, and Her Town :), and had lots of laughs - especially during Catch Phrase. Then we went to the outlet and downtown Seattle with my big brother and his family. We wandered through Pike's Market and experienced the organic ice cream of Molly Moon's.

Sunday morning came, and my brother dropped us off at Pike's again so we could go through it more thoroughly, and we got some lunch and ate it by the pier. I hadn't planned on telling Elise yet, but I saw our ship and knew it was the perfect time. I grabbed her passport from my bag and said "That's our ship." She immediately laughed and said, "Nu-uh...are you serious? Because if this is a joke, it's really mean!" We then sat down and discussed details and both couldn't wait to get onboard!

The ship was full of retirees, but we didn't care! We had a blast and met lots of wonderful people. We explored Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Victoria B.C., Canada. The first and last on that list were our favorites. In Juneau we hiked to Mendenhall Glacier, Ketchikan brought us a relaxed evening on the balcony of Elise's new favorite Mexican restaurant, Skagway provided plenty of salmon to observe, Glacier Bay was full of - what else? Gorgeous glaciers. And then Victoria B.C. was a place we could totally see ourselves living in. We had an incredible dinner there at Pagliacci's (which I'd recommend to anyone going to Victoria), and had to get back on the ship all too soon.

Coming home was bittersweet because my girl and I love to travel, but life is good, and we've adjusted nicely. Elise is now a bridal consultant, selling wedding gowns and lllloving it! I love my job more and more each day, those kids teach me how to love and have patience better than anyone.

We went horseback riding, courtesy of my friend, a few days ago and had a very fun time, despite Elise's allergic reactions to the horse hair, Cash stepping on her foot and almost breaking her toe, and the middle of her bra snapping in half as she dismounted the horse. Ha! Poor Weese.

We had our own little picnic a few days ago at our favorite park, which is something we should do more often. And last night, my sister came for a visit, which brought good discussions and lots of laughs. She and I played the 80s game, Commercial Crazies, then went to sushi when Elise got home, then gelato at Dolcetti where we talked for forever. Then we went home to the boys and laughed some more as we used Sam's phone to reverse our voices, which is always entertaining. My one regret is only taking ONE picture that whole night. I love my sister, it was really nice to get some quality time with her.-Sam